28th August, 2023
At a school reunion last year, I met a batchmate whom I had not seen for many many years.
Vinay was a very bright student and had graduated with honors from a top notch college.
His goal, and what he was passionate about, was to start his own business venture.
During our conversation, I asked Vinay what kind of business did he finally establish?
‘Well,” he confessed, “I didn’t go into business for myself.
As we discussed further, I realised, that he has become an expert on why a business idea won’t work out.”
He has learned every conceivable pitfall, every reason why a small business will fail: ‘You’ve got to have ample capital;’
‘Be sure the business cycle is right;’
‘Is there a big demand for what you will offer?’
‘Is the local industry stabilized?’ -a thousand and one things to check out.
Vinay went on to add, “The thing that hurts most is that several of my oId high school friends who never seemed to have much going for them and just about managed to pass college, now are very well established in their own businesses.
But me, I’m just plodding along, as a low rung Government employee on the verge of retirement, still wondering where the years went & ruing the missed opportunities.”
Had he given some more thought on why a small
business can succeed, he would have been better off in every way today.”
Despite his above average native intelligence, Vinay is actually one of the most unsuccessful people I know.
He has a very mediocre job; he was not willing to shift locations and hence missed out on promotions.
He has few friends because as per him, people bore him. He’s never made any kind of investments because of the risks and the fear that he might lose his money. He is a permanent critic and his cynical remarks on social media are clearly avoidable.
He always has a view on how things could have been done better in the past.
This man uses his great brain power to prove why things won’t work rather than directing his mental power to searching for ways to succeed.
Because of the negative thinking that guides his great reservoir of knowledge, he contributes little and creates nothing.
With a changed attitude, he could do great things indeed. He has the brains to be a tremendous success, but not the right attitude.
We all would know people, who despite the resources miss out on opportunity because of a bad attitude, a fear of change and inability to move out of our comfort zone & take some risks and they end up repenting when it’s too late.
It’s better to have tried & failed, than not to have tried at all. In the end, we only regret the chances we don’t take.
Take your chance now & stay blessed forever.